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Approaches to optimize Uzbekistan's investment in irrigation technologies
No full textEkonomicheskaya Politika, Volume 2020, Issue 2, 2020, Pages 136-147.For many decades, Uzbekistan has been one of the largest cotton producers in the world. The irrigation water needed for these high production levels has been delivered by the massive diversion of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, which naturally flowed into the Aral Sea. This diversion for agriculture was the main cause of the rapid decline of the Aral Sea, which is at only 10% of its original size today. The traditional method of irrigation, which relies on simple open canal systems, is highly inefficient for managing the region's critical and limited water resource. It has been qualitatively estimated, for example, that irrigation water lost to evaporation and system inefficiencies is quite large. With the future availability of water at risk for agriculture in Central Asia, primarily due to the loss of glacial volume from global warming, along with declines in seasonal snowpack, it is clear that new approaches to water management are needed. Any serious efforts to restore the Aral Sea and its ecological services would also reduce supplies of irrigation water for Uzbekistan. While regional conflict over water is unlikely, it must be considered since Uzbekistan is a downstream country among several that rely on the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers for most of their water supplies. To insure against these risks to cotton production and the underlying economy, better irrigation technologies are needed across Uzbekistan. However, these technologies can be quite expensive, especially given that water is still nearly free. In this case study we explore the use of real options analysis (ROA) to look for optimal investment strategies in efficient irrigation technologies in light of variable climate and policy uncertainties
Thank you sign in the window of a row house on 13th Street NE
No full textThank you sign posted in the window of a home on 13th Street NE
Graffiti that warns to 'Play at a safe distance'
No full textGraffiti that warns to 'Play at a safe distance', with two elephant maintaining social distance
Abiotic community constraints in extreme environments: epikarst copepods as a model system
No full textDiversity, Volume 12, Issue 7, July 2020, Article number 269.The general hypothesis that the overall presence or absence of one or more species in an extreme habitat is determined by physico-chemical factors was investigated using epikarst copepod communities as a model system, an example of an extreme environment with specialized, often rare species. The relationship between the presence or absence of epikarst copepods from drips in six Slovenian caves and 12 physico-chemical factors (temperature, conductivity, pH, Ca2+, Na+, K+, Mg2+, NH4+, and Cl-, NO2-, NO3-, and SO42-) was explored. Statistical analyses included principal components analysis, logistic mixed models, stepwise logistic multivariate regression, classification trees, and random forests. Parametric statistical analyses demonstrated the overall importance of two variables-temperature and conductivity. The more flexible statistical approaches, namely categorical trees and random forests, indicate that temperature and concentrations of Ca2+ and Mg2+ were important. This may be because they are essential nutrients or, at least in the case of Ca2+, its importance in molting. The correlation of Cl- and NO3- with copepod abundance may be due to unmeasured variables that vary at the scale of individual cave, but in any case, the values have an anthropogenic component. This contrasts with factors important in individual species' niche separation, which overlap with the community parameters only for NO3-
NETWORKING AUTHORITARIAN NEOLIBERALISM: REALIGNED STRATEGIES OF INFORMATION CONTROL AND RESISTANCE IN THE CASE OF TURKEY
No full textThis study analyzes the struggle to control the flow of information in the digital era by taking the contemporary Turkish experience as a case study. The political power in Turkey has sustained its rule since 2002, and its efforts to control the information flows proved crucial in that effort. Despite the progressive potentials of the new information and communication technologies, power relations have not only remained unaltered but have also been exacerbated in many contexts around the world. Turkey provides important insights into the uses of the new technologies by both those in control and those resisting. Based on in-depth interviews, document analysis, content analysis, and qualitative analysis of pro- and anti-government Twitter accounts during social upheavals, this study develops an analytical framework to explain the workings of the information control struggles and mechanisms that negate the democratizing potential of the digital media. The framework consists of five information control points: 1) instrumentalizing media through ownership structure; 2) privatizing censorship and surveillance by taking advantage of the business model of the digital media; 3) networking surveillance; 4) employing direct censorship and legal and political attacks; and 5) networking information campaigns, including state-sponsored campaigns. Each of these processes is not only contested but also exists in or relies on another. As the ruling elites deploy regeared and realigned strategies of information control, one of the most effective outcomes—and perhaps the most desired by those in power—is the establishment of a culture of self-censorship.Communicationcensorship, control of information, Digital media, privatization of governance, social movements, TurkeySchool of CommunicationDegree Awarded: Ph.D. School of Communication. American Universit
Mechanical ringdown studies of large-area substrate-transferred GaAs/AlGaAs crystalline coatings
No full textJournal of the Optical Society of America B: Optical Physics, Volume 36, Issue 4, 1 April 2019, Pages C15-C21.We investigated elastic loss in GaAs/AlGaAs multilayers to help determine the suitability of these coatings for future gravitational wave detectors. We measured large (≈70-mm diameter) substrate-transferred crystalline coating samples with an improved substrate polish and bonding method. The elastic loss, when decomposed into bulk and shear contributions, was shown to arise entirely from the bulk loss, ϕ bulk 5.33 0.03 × 10 −4 , with ϕ shear 0.0 −0 5 .0 .2 × 10− 7 . These results predict the coating loss of an 8-mm diameter coating in a 35-mm long cavity with a 250-μm spot size (radius) to be ϕ coating 4.78 0.05 × 10− 5 , in agreement with the published result from direct thermal noise measurement of ϕ coating 4 4 × 10− 5 . Bonding defects were shown to have little impact on the overall elastic loss
The evolving role of public health in medical education
No full textFrontiers in Public Health, Volume 8, 26 June 2020, Article number 251.Medical education in the twentieth century was largely influenced by the Flexner Report, with significant proportions of instruction dedicated to the molecular underpinnings of the pathologic pathways and minimal mention of the socio-ecological determinants of health. When examining the predominant diseases of the twenty first century landscape, widening health disparities, and significant changes in the United States healthcare system, it is imperative to view wellness and sickness in a broader public health context rather than a singular focus of the biomedical model. While undergraduate opportunities to study public health are on the rise in the United States, there is a parallel urgency for medical curricula to recognize the importance of the complex interrelated socio-ecological root causes of health, well-being, and illness. In order to reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases and increase health equity, it is necessary for medical education to integrate core public health knowledge and competencies. Contemporary health challenges require a public health approach, in addition to clinical skills, for physicians to provide equitable care. The COVID-19 pandemic further underscores the necessity to mitigate the effects of socio-ecological determinants of health. Seven key recommendations are presented from a training to practice timeline emphasizing the important linkages between medical education, socio-ecological influences on health, and public health. As the health challenges in society and communities shift, so too must training of future physicians. There is a need and an opportunity for medicine and public health to address the shared health challenges of our global society
Eastern Senior High School
No full textSocial distance markers on the sidewalk outside of Eastern Senior High School and a yard side
Real-time Detection of Early Drowsiness Using Convolutional Neural Networks
No full textDrowsy driving is one of the major problems in the United States. The number of accidents caused by drowsy driving amounts to over 6000 fatal crashes each year. This project intends to propose algorithms to detect early driving drowsiness, which can help drivers to have enough time to handle sleepiness. The basis of the proposed approach is to use the amount of eye closure, yawning, eye blinking to classify the level of drowsiness. After successful classification, there is a sound alarm to awake the user to prevent accidents. We use convolutional neural networks and facial landmarks to select best model for this classification. Experimental results are provided to validate the proposed method.Electrical engineeringconvolution neural network, drowsiness detection, face detection, facial landmarkElectrical Engineering and Computer ScienceDegree Awarded: M.S.E. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The Catholic University of Americ